Iraqi Sunnis end boycott and rejoin government

Britain's Brown makes surprise visit, holds talks

Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain sat in a military helicopter after his surprise arrival in Baghdad yesterday. Brown's visit occurred on the eve of Barack Obama's trip. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

BAGHDAD -Iraqi lawmakers cleared an important hurdle yesterday by approving the appointment of six Sunnis as Cabinet ministers after a yearlong boycott by the Sunni political bloc.

Also yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain made an unannounced visit to Iraq. He held talks with senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, and then flew to the southern city of Basra to meet with British troops.

The Sunni ministers approved by parliament were all members of Tawafiq, the largest Sunni bloc, which had been boycotting Maliki's government since last August. The return of Tawafiq is a significant political victory for Maliki, who has been trying to cement his reputation as a national leader who transcends sectarian lines.

Sunni participation in the Iraqi government has been an important goal for the United States, and the return of the Sunni bloc will be seen as progress in an otherwise bumpy political reconciliation process.

Tawafiq's decision to rejoin the Maliki government was made after months of negotiations on a variety of interests important to the Sunni minority in Iraq.

"We have a written deal with Maliki," said Abdul Kareem al-Sammarai, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest party in Tawafiq. He did not give details.

Under the agreement, Rafie al-Issawi, who was minister of state for foreign affairs until the boycott began, will be Maliki's deputy prime minister for security affairs. Other Sunnis have been appointed to lead the Ministries of Culture, Communications, Women's Affairs, Higher Education, and the State Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Parliament also voted to endorse four members of the United Iraqi Alliance, the largest Shi'ite coalition, to replace ministers who were pulled by the political bloc led by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The Sadrists have been boycotting Maliki's government since May 2007.

Along with members of other smaller political parties, most of the Sadrists refused to participate in yesterday's parliamentary session, but the protest was not large enough to prevent a vote.

In April, members of Tawafiq announced that they were working out a deal to return to parliament. At the time, leaders said they were pleased that the government was addressing some of their concerns by passing an amnesty law that led to the release of Sunni prisoners and by leading operations against Shi'ite militias.

Sunni leaders had been pressing for a voice in security decisions and for the appointment of a Tawafiq member to head the powerful Planning Ministry. That ministry is led by Ali Baban, who left Tawafiq after the Sunni boycott began in order to keep his post.

The struggle over the Planning Ministry remains unresolved, said Khalaf al-Iliyan, the leader of the National Dialogue Council, a party within Tawafiq.

As to Tawafiq's demand to have a greater say in security matters, Sami al-Askari, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, said Maliki considered it unconstitutional.

"Security is overseen by the general commander of the security forces, and the prime minister is the general commander of the security forces," Askari said.

Even after announcing their intent to return, leaders from Tawafiq acknowledged infighting about which parties within the bloc would get which ministerial posts.

As it turned out, four of the positions, including that of deputy prime minister, went to members of the Iraqi Islamic Party. Members of the National Dialogue Council were appointed to the other two posts. Askari said Ahl al-Iraq, a smaller party within Tawafiq, was promised other official positions, such as ambassadorships and deputy ministerial posts.

Brown, at a news conference in Baghdad, said that his aim was to reduce troop numbers eventually but that he would not set an "artificial timetable" for that, echoing language long used by the Bush administration regarding US troops in Iraq.

Brown's visit occurred on the eve of a trip to Iraq by Barack Obama, whose stated policy is to withdraw all combat brigades by the middle of 2010. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Maliki said that goal was consistent with his objectives.

"Barack Obama talks about 16 months," Maliki said in the interview. "That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

The legal basis for British and US troops to be in Iraq expires with a UN mandate at the end of December, and Britain, like the United States, is in the process of negotiating a new arrangement under which its forces would remain. Britain has about 4,000 soldiers in Iraq.